Coryn turned to Captain Galbraith. “Prepare a raven. Send it to Henry’s Crossing. Warn them the Krai’kesh are attempting to tunnel beneath the walls and ask that they move on Tar Ebon with all due haste.”
Captain Galbraith nodded. “It will be done, my queen.”
Chapter 30
“We’ve received communication from Tar Ebon,” Dawyn said, holding up a letter from Coryn before the leaders of the all the gathered armies from across the continent of Tar Ebon. “The Krai’kesh are digging some sort of tunnel. Estimates from Coryn say it will be beneath the walls within the week. Once the tunnel is complete, Tar Ebon will be overrun and this mission will no longer be a rescue but a salvage operation. There’s also the matter of a crystal that is dampening the use of magic around Tar Ebon. Alivia and Anwyn conjecture that the crystal is the source of some sort of dampening field preventing the use of all magic. Considering our primary weapon against the Krai’kesh will be magic, that crystal must be destroyed. She gave me an idea on how to do that. Prepare your forces to leave for Tar Ebon in two days’ time. We must hope the Allyrian forces arrive in time to aid us, but we can delay no longer.”
“With all due respect,” King Galvaroth began, “who designated you the leader of this…coalition?”
“The queen of Tar Ebon did when she dispatched myself and my allies on this mission. You don’t have to like it, but I expect your generals and commanders to follow my orders in the battle to come.”
“Just so long as my men don’t have to march next to them,” he said, pointing toward King Morisette and his commanders from Selucia.
“You’ll march where I say you’ll march,” Dawyn said, glaring at King Galvaroth. “Now is not the time for frivolous bickering or childish behavior. Now, are there any other questions or complaints?”
No one spoke up.
“Good, now prepare your men. We march in two days’ time for Tar Ebon.”
***
After the meeting, Dawyn found Anwyn at the northern side of the sprawling base camp in Henry’s Crossing facing north lost in thought.
“Have you been out here long?” he asked.
Anwyn turned to him and gave him a warm smile. “Oh, I didn’t hear you walk up. No, I haven’t been here long. I was just thinking about the future.”
“Are you worried about the coming battle? You can stay behind, no one would blame you. I don’t want to see you hurt.”
Anwyn frowned for a moment before resuming her smile. “No Dawyn, I won’t stand by as brave men and women give their lives to defend Tar Ebon. I will be fighting right at your side.”
“Anwyn, there’s something I wanted to discuss with you.” He fingered a ring in his pocket. “Something I wanted to ask you.”
Anwyn’s eyes flickered to Dawyn’s pocket. “Let’s wait until after the battle,” she said. “Then we can talk about our future together, when we have more time. Right now I think we both need rest and to make final preparations.”
Dawyn nodded reluctantly and released his hold on the ring in his pocket. “You’re right. Let’s wait until the battle is done.”
Chapter 31
Ashley, Jason, John and Dawyn stood in the midst of an empty field at the southern outskirts of the joint armies coming to the aid of Tar Ebon. Ashley spoke. “If we are to destroy the Krai’kesh diamond, Dawyn, we will need a special weapon. May I have your sword?”
Dawyn eyed Ashley with skepticism, but withdrew his blade and handed it to her hilt-first. “What is your plan?” he asked.
Ashley ignored him. “Place the braziers in a circle, there,” Ashley commanded, pointing.
John, Jason, and Dawyn placed half a dozen braziers filled with wood in a circle around the point Ashley pointed at. “What are you going to do?” John asked, echoing Dawyn.
Ashley looked down at Dawyn’s sword in her hand. “Forge something we need.” She thrust the sword into the dirt at the center of the circle the braziers formed. Stepping back, she sat down. “If I collapse, don’t move me right away. I’m going to be going deeper than I ever have before, and I might topple over.”
John furrowed his brows and opened his mouth to speak, but snapped it closed again. “Alright. Just come back, okay?”
Ashley smiled with a confidence she didn’t feel. “I will. I promise.”
Ashley stretched out her mind and focused on the six braziers arrayed in a circle around the sword. Drawing heat from the air, she lit them. She then shifted her focus to the sword and closed her eyes. The sword seemed to glow as her mind’s eye beheld it. Stretching out her mind, she delved into the sword. Carbon and iron met her senses - steel. Delving deeper, Ashley sensed microscopic space between the molecules of iron and carbon within the blade. That space became her focus.
She thought about diamonds and what she had learned about them what seemed ages ago but had been less than a year. Diamonds were the hardest natural material in the known world. It was because they were so dense due to high temperatures and high pressure exerted in the core of the earth. Ashley didn’t want a diamond, but she did need something that could cut diamond.
Ashley cast her mind toward the core of the world. Down her mind went, past layers of distinct rock and minerals as it burrowed through Tar Ebon’s crust. There, near the core of the world, she found what she needed. Elements rarely seen near the surface of the earth. Elements obtained only from asteroid or meteorites back on earth. Ashley gripped the metals she needed in her mind and dragged them upward. The metals resisted at first, located so deep beneath the crust, but Ashley caused their molecules to move faster and faster, liquefying the metal and allowing them to slide through the less dense minerals as they ascended from the depths of the planet.
The elements from the core of the world bubbled up around the sword. Using air magic, Ashley caused the elements to crawl up the blade of the sword until it was covered with the dark, gooey material. Ashley felt the dense elements as they met the steel blade beneath. Layering a steel blade with the elements from the core would not be enough. She needed to mix them.
Holding the elements firm to the blade, Ashley seized the heat from the flames in the braziers surrounding the blade. The heat seemed to leave streaks in the air as it swept toward the sword from many directions. Ashley continued to draw heat as the temperature of the blade and core elements rose. The blade turned first red, then blue and finally white. It was time.
Ashley maintained the heat streaming toward the sword, containing it in the space around the blade, while focusing on increasing the air density.
The density in the air surrounding the white hot mixture of core elements and steel increased until the blade began to compress more than it had before. She formed the mass of molten metal into the shape of a blade. It was time for the most important part. Ashley delved into the space between the molecules of the steel and core elements and pushed the molecules of the metal into that microscopic space. She passed over each section of space and closed the gap, compressing the metal further than any ordinary forging method could. Once done, she pressed in on the mass of molten metal again, re-forming it into the shape of a blade after her manipulations, while ensuring no gaps between the molecules formed.
Satisfied, Ashley withdrew the heat from the sword and evacuated it back to the braziers. The sword cooled in an instant. Ashley opened her eyes to find a pitch black blade sticking out of the earth. She looked to Dawyn. “Take it,” she commanded.
Dawyn returned her gaze for a moment before stepping forward. He grabbed the sword hilt and tugged. Out came the blade from the earth, its entire blade black as night. “Amazing,” Dawyn said. “So light, too. I had only been expecting a dagger-sized weapon.”
“It should cut diamond,” Ashley said, feeling light-headed. “What will you call it?”
Dawyn studied the blade. “Nightblade.”
Ashley smiled faintly. “Then my work is done.” She swayed for a moment before blackness took her and she felt herself falling sideways.
> ***
Ashley awoke. She blinked several times until her vision came into focus. She looked down. She was in a bed. John sat in a chair next to her bed, sleeping. “Hey,” she croaked.
John startled awake. “Oh, hey babe. How are you feeling?”
I have a terrible headache, and I’m famished. But otherwise I’m OK,” she replied.
“Good. Hey, I know this isn’t the best of times and all that, and maybe I should wait till you rest more and eat but, I just can’t go another moment without saying something to you. Something I’ve wanted to say for a while now, I just couldn’t find the ‘right’ time. But nearly losing you today made me realize there won’t ever be a right time and that I just have to say it.”
“Say what?” Ashley asked, feeling butterflies in her stomach.
John drew a deep breath. “Ashley, I’m in love with you. I love you and I’m in love with you. I have been for a long time. We’ve been through a lot and, with this big battle coming up, I realized we might both not make it out alive.” Jason rose from his chair and knelt next to Ashley’s bed. He withdrew a plain gold ring from his pocket. “Ashley Marie Thorpe, will you marry me?”
Ashley put her hand over her mouth, stifling a gasp. Tears flowed from her eyes. “Yes, John, yes, I will marry you!” she exclaimed. She tried to rise but let out a groan as her head pounded more.
“Just lie back, let me come to you,” John said. He leaned in and kissed her, then placed the ring on the ring finger of her right hand. “A promise, until after the battle. Deal?”
“Deal.”
Chapter 32
Dawyn surveyed the Fields of Pelinor from atop a hill to the south. At his rear marched the armies of five of the seven nations residing on the continent of Tar Ebon. Bridgette, John, Ashley and Anwyn, along with the commanders of each of the armies, stood scattered across the hill.
Dawyn pointed. “That pile of dirt worries me.”
“How close do you think they are to the walls?” John asked.
“Judging by the mountain of dirt, an hour at the most, I would guess,” Dawyn replied. “Bridgette, how far out are Jason and the others?”
Bridgette closed her eyes for a moment. “Half an hour or so. They just passed Shady Hollow and are galloping.”
“Alright, let’s wait for them and attack as a united…”
“Look over there!” Ashley interrupted, pointing to the east. A cluster of Rovarkians were riding north along the eastern edge of the Fields of Pelinor.
“Bloody Hell, what are they doing?” Dawyn said. “Who is leading them?”
A group of Rovarkians rode toward where Dawyn stood. The leader of the united Rovarkian clans, Sying Tsendebal reined in his horse. “Liang has taken his men and is going to attack the Krai’kesh alone.”
Dawyn sighed. Not a good way to start a battle. If he let the Rovarkians die, he could lose the support of Sying and the remaining Rovarkians. But if they attacked without the Allyrians on their flank… “We have to support them. Signal the advance,” he ordered the horn bearers. He returned the grateful nod of Sying and turned his attention to the Krai’kesh horde below.
Horns blared behind him and dozens more repeated the call along the front of the gathered armies. They began their advance.
Chapter 33
The remnants of the hasty portion of the Rovarkian forces, who had charged in alone, were streaming away from the Krai’kesh lines in tatters. Horses ran rampant, while men lay slaughtered on the ground. Those that still remained mounted rode toward their brethren. Dawyn rode behind the Valnarian pike, while John and Ashley rode at the rear of the Selucian army at Dawyn’s right. The Galleans marched to the right of the Selucians, while the Sagami samurai strode on his left, with Bridgette at the head with their shogun. Anwyn had gone to be with the druids supporting the Galleans. The rest of the Rovarkian forces straddled the far right flank.
Dawyn turned to a messenger. “Tell the Rovarkians that they are to support the right Gallean flank. No more heroics!” To another messenger, “I want the Selucians to engage, then the Galleans come on the right flank of the Selucians to help surround the Krai’kesh. Push them from the east.” To the last messenger, “tell the Sagami to watch the riverfront for possible amphibious assault.”
When the Valnarian lines were about 100 yards away Dawyn signaled the order to halt. Horns blew the agreed upon signal and it echoed across the battle line. All the armies stopped where they were, save the fleeing Rovarkians. The Krai’kesh held a loose rank, watching the coming army, though a cluster surrounded the dismounted Rovarkians, completing the slaughter. Why didn’t the Krai’kesh charge them? His eyes fell upon the distant crystal near the heart of the Krai’kesh ranks. Of course, with the crystal active magic would not be able to touch the Krai’kesh. He thought the creatures must be straddling the edge of the magic nullification field.
“Ranged units to the fore!” Dawyn shouted. Another symphony of horns echoed and the ranged units from each army moved forward. Sagami and Selucian bowmen, Valnarian crossbowmen and Gallean slingers formed up at the vanguard of each army. When Dawyn saw that most had completed their maneuvers he gave the next command. “Loose projectiles!”
A hail of arrows, bolts and stones erupted from the human lines toward the Krai’kesh ranks. The projectiles slammed into the creatures. Several dropped to the heavy bolts, while the stones from the slingers appeared to do little damage. Arrows peppered the Krai’kesh and some pierced the weak points in their carapace armor, but most bounced off. Dawyn had expected nothing less, and time was of the essence with the subterranean Krai’kesh growing ever closer to the walls, but he had hoped for more enemies to fall to the barrage. The onslaught of death from afar continued for several minutes before Dawyn gave the signal to cease firing.
It was time. “Sound the advance!” he shouted.
The horns echoed once more and the soldiers began their advance, with the ranged units moving to the rear. When the pikes were about 25 yards from the Krai’kesh, the pike commanders ordered them to lower their pikes. As one, the pikes descended, forming a steel-tipped wall of death. Three rows of pikes pointed toward the Krai’kesh, while the remainder of the pikemen had their pikes up at an angle, ready to drop down as needed.
The Sagami, when they were about 20 yards from the Krai’kesh, drew their swords and began to surge forward as a wall of flesh and steel. Likewise, the Valnarian swordsmen charged forward, shields held up and swords at the ready. The Gallatians moved like a ragged tide, their numbers, and the druids racing along in the form of wolves and bears and other vicious animals, making them formidable, while the Rovarkians kicked their horses into a gallop.
The engagement of battle seemed to happen all at once. A cacophony of sound assaulted Dawyn’s ears and his focus narrowed from watching all the armies to watching the Valnaria lines in front of him. The first ranks of pikes slammed into the Krai’kesh, scoring some early hits. The Krai’kesh adapted and began to bat the pikes aside or slice off the tips of the pikes, leaving them little more than pointy sticks.
Behind the front ranks of Krai’kesh, a line of the creatures knelt down. Those behind scuttled forward and launched themselves from the backs of their kneeling brethren. Dawyn watched in surprise as a dozen of the monsters soared through the air and came crashing down behind the Valnarian lines. Some were struck by pikes in mid-air, but the weight of the Krai’kesh impaled carried the pikes crashing to the ground. Those soldiers unfortunate enough to be in the path of the spikes on the end of the Krai’kesh feet were impaled. The Krai’kesh that survived the landing set about themselves with mandibles and claws causing blood to spray into the air. Shouts of surprise, and terror erupted from the pikemen as those in the front ranks realized they were surrounded and those further back faced the enemy earlier than expected. Some men began to turn as if to flee.
Dawyn urged Shadow forward and rode along the rear of the pike lines, shouting encouragement. He knew it would not be enough, however. Dis
mounting, Dawyn waded through the line of pikes toward the melee ahead. When he arrived, he found the corpses of several dozen pikemen surrounding only a quarter as many Krai’kesh warriors. Pikemen tried to stab the creatures with their pikes, but the unwieldy weapons proved ineffective in close quarters against the hard carapaces of their foes. Some pikemen had dropped their pikes, preferring to fight with their swords instead, but pikemen were not trained as well with the sword as Selucian or Sagami infantry and many fell before even striking a single blow.
Dawyn waded into the fray and charged the first Krai’kesh he saw. Slowing time, he dodged one of its claws, parried another with an ordinary blade and thrust Nightblade into the face of the Krai’kesh. What passed for the blood of the creature spurted out of the wound and Dawyn stepped back. Careful to avoid the spasming claws or feet as the creature died, Dawyn sought out another foe and continued his assault. Another wave of Krai’kesh landed among the pikemen, with Dawyn avoiding impalement by mere inches.
***
Bridgette danced among the Krai’kesh, reveling in the death she dealt. Swirling into the shadow realm, she leapt onto the back of one Krai’kesh warrior, shifted back to flesh and slashed its throat. Green fluid spurted from what passed for arteries and the creature toppled to the ground. Bridgette somersaulted off the Krai’kesh and shifted to the shadow realm in mid-air. Landing in that dark place parallel to reality, she sought another target.
All around, the Sagami warriors fought with ferocity. Their blades blurred as they slashed at weak points in the Krai’kesh defenses at every turn. A trio of warriors surrounded a Krai’kesh as she watched. One of the men distracted it, parrying its blows with his sword and turning them aside, while the other two slashed at its feet and sought to disable it. As the creature stumbled, the first Sagami warrior lunged and thrust his blade through the enemy’s chest plate into the soft flesh beneath.
The Shadow Trilogy Complete Box Set Page 47
